Things You Didn’t Know About Burt Reynolds

“Colorful” doesn’t begin to describe his life.

Creative Commons: Alan Light

During the 70s, Burt Reynolds was arguably the King of Hollywood. His movies were generally more fun than deep and Reynolds himself parlayed good looks, a nice sense of humor and a likeable persona into a notable career. Of course, everything wasn’t hunky dory in Burt’s life. Let’s look at some things you might not have known about Burt Reynolds.

1: Burt was considered for the role of Michael Corleone, but Marlo Brando objected.

Brando threatened to walk if Reynolds was cast in the role and said, “He is the epitome of something that makes me want to throw up.” That’s a pretty strong reaction. First of all, getting Brando to walk was no small feat. Plus, I suspect it took a lot to make Marlon throw up. So, I guess Burt as Michael Corleone was a hard no for Brando.

2: Like many big-name actors, Burt turned down some high-profile roles.

Included were Han Solo and James Bond. Well, he did choose to play Gator McClusky, so there’s that.

3: Burt’s cinema classic, “Smokey and the Bandit” was a favorite of Alfred Hitchcock.